


Whether Times Are Good or Bad, Happy, or Sad

by lunarknightz



Category: The Cutting Edge
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-20
Updated: 2009-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-04 17:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarknightz/pseuds/lunarknightz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They've won the gold medal.   They've fallen in love.  But can they make their relationship off the ice last?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whether Times Are Good or Bad, Happy, or Sad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [miriad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miriad/gifts).



The metallic chirping of an alarm woke Kate from a deep sleep. "Oh, no alarm." She groaned as she reached over and grabbed at the alarm. "Stupid alarm."

"It _is_ a stupid alarm." Doug muttered as he ran his hands up and down Kate's body under the silk sheet. "A stupid," He paused to kiss Kate's cheek as she fiddled with the alarm. "Stupid," He kissed Kate's ear. "Alarm." He kissed her neck. "Why did we set it, anyway?"

"I think," she giggled as Doug's lips continued to kiss down her body. They had commitments- interviews and photo shoots celebrating their win of the Gold Medal. And really, the responsible thing to do would be to get out of bed, get dressed, and face the public. Didn't they owe it to the American people to do interviews?

Kate didn't want to be responsible. Doug was rubbing off on her. Was that a good thing?

"I think you're thinking too much." Doug said, as he pulled Kate towards him and holding her closer, and proceeded to keep Kate occupied in much more interesting and pleasurable ways.

 

__________________

 

She'd been pretty happy with the way things were going. After the Olympics, Kate had planned on retiring from skating all together. After the medal, both Kate and Doug had found themselves flooded with offers and possibilities. Together, they'd decided to turn professional and keep skating. They joined a touring group of other Olympic champions (some pairs, some solo skaters) as they traveled all over the globe, performing eight to ten shows a week.

At first, it had been ideal. Their romantic angle of their relationship was new. Visiting new places was a thrill. Kate hadn't traveled outside of traveling for competitions since she was a young child, and Doug had mostly traveled through the Midwest and Northeast. They made a game out of the travel, buying a cheap Polaroid camera, taking pictures in every new city in silly poses. They were growing up, out on their own yet together (even if it involved traveling with a bus full of rowdy Olympic Champions).

It wasn't perfect. Kate got sick of living out of a suitcase, and she really missed the days back when they were in training, working for a goal. She loved skating, and skating with Doug, but sometimes she missed being challenged.

Still, Kate was happy. And she'd thought that Doug was, too. And then she'd found the letter in his suitcase. A letter with a job offer.

Occasionally, Doug would work out with minor league hockey teams in the cities they visited on tour. It was a good work out for him, and hockey would always be a part of Doug's soul. He couldn't play competitively ever again, but he still knew and loved the game. One of the ECHL teams he'd worked out with, The Pensacola Ice Pilots, had offered him a job as an assistant coach.

Doug hadn't told her about it. Hadn't said a word.

Kate paced around the hotel room, waiting for Doug to return. The longer she waited, the more upset she became. By the time Doug came back, she was worked up into a hurricane of a mood. The fight that ensued was the worst fight they'd had.

They didn't talk the next day, not even as they warmed up for the evening's show. Neither of their minds were truly on the routine. Kate fell out of one of the lifts, and landed on the ice with a horrifying crunching thud.

She'd broken her wrist. Skating was an impossibility for the time being.

Kate had bumped her head when she fell. The doctors were keeping her overnight, merely as a precaution. Doug visited her in her room. He brought a bouquet of flowers, somewhat crumpled, from the hospital gift shop.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"It wouldn't have happened if I would have had my mind on the skate. I was distracted, and things like this happen when you're distracted. Don't blame yourself."

"It _is_ my fault."

"Don't flatter yourself." Kate sighed. "We need to face it. This just isn't working out."

'"The tour? Maybe it's not the best fit, Kate, but we can find something that works better."

"I wasn't talking about the tour."

"About us, Kate?"

"You should take the job." She said curtly. ''You could be happy in Florida."

Doug was silent for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say. "If this…If this is what you really want, Kate, then I'll take the job in Florida. Maybe I haven't been happy in this watered down Ice Capades. Maybe I feel a little bit lost. Maybe I'm still figuring it out. But you're absolutely nuts if you think I'm going to be happy anywhere without _you_." He took Kate's unhurt hands in his own, swallowed deeply and tried not to cry. He hated crying. "If you honestly tell me that this is what you want, I'll walk out the door, and go to Florida. But I love you, Kate. I do."

"I want this." Kate said. "This is what I want."  
Doug threw the flowers to the floor, and stormed out of the room.

Kate waited until he was gone to cry.

 

_______

 

All sorts of stupid things happen in Las Vegas. Granted, some wonderful and amazing happen too, but it's the stupid things that grab all the attention and headlines.

It was in Las Vegas that Kate Moseley got married.

After breaking up with Doug and quitting the tour, Kate had turned to judging ice skating. Her expertise and Olympic experience made her an in demand judge. On the weekend she got married, Kate was in Las Vegas judging a Junior's competition.

She went out with a few friends after the competition, and things got wild. Comped drinks helped Kate loosen up and get on the dance floor at the hottest club in town.

It was on the dance floor where she bumped into Doug. He was in town for a bachelor party for one of his team's players (it was the off season, after all.) Doug had had quite a lot to drink as well.

The liquor blurred the hurt and the anger from their breakup, made it seem unimportant and far away. It didn't change their chemistry, or their feelings for one another.

Dancing led to kissing, which led to making out in the corner.

"Marry me." Doug said, holding her tightly against the club's wall.

"Okay." She giggled.

Kate woke up in the morning in a strange hotel room, her clothes scattered all over the room, and a vague memory of being married by Elvis.

 

__________________

 

The news broke sooner than they wanted it to. It was a great story, Olympic partners and former lovers indulging in a quickie romantic wedding.

Kate and Doug were an instant news story, but for the rest of that weekend they kept to themselves, holed up in Doug's hotel room. Things had to be talked out. The issues that had caused their breakup had to be discussed. They'd hurt each other deeply. Hell, they even lived on opposite sides of the country at the moment.

Kate and Doug came up with an ambitious plan. They would give this marriage a shot. They kissed and laughed and daydreamed of training again with Anton for the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano.

They posed for People, embellishing the abruptness of their reconciliation and marriage; made appearances on _Today_ and _Good Morning America_. They visited her father and reunited with Anton for dinner, making apologies and planning for the future.

Doug and Kate's marriage may have started abruptly, but the marriage grew stronger with time.

The bid for the Olympics comeback didn't go anywhere.

Surprisingly, Kate didn't mind. She watched those Olympics from the comfort of her own couch, with Doug by her side.

"See?" Doug said to the small baby girl in Kate's lap. "That skater there can't hold a candle to your Mommy. She's the best skater ever."

Kate laughed. "Daddy thinks flattery will get him anywhere."

"That's because he's right, Star." Doug said, kissing his daughter's cheek. "Daddy's absolutely right."

"Or that's what we let him think." Kate said with a wink.

 

___________

 

There is something amazing about being at the Olympics. The thrill of competition, the spirit of people coming together in the spirit of sportsmanship….Kate's not sure what it is, but she's absolutely thrilled to be back. Twenty two years ago, the Olympics had been a disaster for her. Eighteen years ago, the Olympics had been an absolute dream, winning the Gold and falling in love with Doug. But this time, the Olympics were absolutely perfect.

Kate looked down to the VIP section, and saw Doug and the kids waving at her. Their thirteen year old daughter Aurora (nicknamed Star since birth by her dad), and ten year old son Jacob wave as well, thrilled to be at the Olympics. She'll join them later, and they'll explore the wonders of Vancouver and the Games together.

She waved and blew a kiss to her family.

Right now, Kate has a job to do. She nodded to her partner and put on her headphones. She is an Olympic correspondent for NBC, covering assorted skating events.

Kate can't help but smile. Her job is a dream. She's been married to Doug for fourteen years. They've been through good times, like when Doug got a job as the head hockey coach at a small university, or when she was tapped for this gig like NBC. They've been through hard times, such as her Dad's cancer scare. The kids are a handful, but they are _theirs_, and that's all that matters.

On the ice, at Albertville, Kate never imagined that she'd be who she is now. Happy, fulfilled, and still in love with a man who could make her heart pound while simultaneously driving her crazy.

It was all pretty damn amazing.


End file.
